John’s Journal: Two-Pronged Ground Game Lifts LeRoy-Ostrander

 

A jersey bearing the number 50 is not typical for a running back. It’s traditionally a linebacker/offensive line number, and that’s why LeRoy-Ostrander senior running back Tanner Olson wears 50. He was an offensive lineman until the final game of the regular season and remains a stalwart defensive end.

His performance, no matter the position, is one of the reasons why the Cardinals will play for the Nine-Man state championship next week at U.S. Bank Stadium. They secured their spot in the Prep Bowl with a 49-0 victory over Kittson County Central in Thursday’s semifinals. They await the winner of Friday’s semifinal between Fertile-Beltrami and Hills-Beaver Creek.

Olson stands 6-foot-2 and weights 200 pounds. As Cardinals coach Trevor Carrier said after Thursday’s game, “he’s very big, very strong and he’s fast.” 

Olson rushed 22 times for 111 yards and two touchdowns Thursday, coming on the heels of a 19-carry, 144-yard game against Wheaton/Herman-Norcross in last week’s state quarterfinals. His totals over those two games are pretty astounding for a one-time lineman: 41 carries, 255 yards and six touchdowns.

Look at Trevor’s numbers, coupled with the play of quarterback Chase Johnson and a hard-working offensive line, and it’s no wonder the Cardinals are on the cusp of a state title. Johnson ran 23 times for 323 yards in the quarterfinals and on Thursday he carried 21 times for 234 yards.

Between Olson and Johnson, their two-game totals are 85 rushes and 812 yards … nearly 10 yards per carry. That’s tough to stop.

“They are a good team, with players across the board,” said Kittson County Central coach Cory Waling. “They don’t surprise you a whole lot with what they’re going to do. Their quarterback is amazing and their fullback is a tough runner. It just keeps you off-balance. And then you’ve got to tackle them. That kind of creates problem.”

LeRoy-Ostrander played in the 1993 and 1995 Prep Bowls, losing each time. This is the Cardinals’ first state tournament appearance since 2004. Kittson County Central, at state for the for the first time since 2014, won a state championship in 1994.

Under The Bright Lights

When Chatfield junior Luke Carrier scored the winning touchdown on a 47-yard pass with 2:21 to play in the Gophers’ 22-18 Class 2A semifinal win over Barnesville, the outcome of the play was uncertain as the ball sailed through the air. The lights at U.S. Bank Stadium got in the way ever so briefly.

“When (quarterback) Parker (Delaney) threw up the ball … I lost sight with the lights in the stadium. I’m not used to that kind of lighting,” said Carrier. “And I kind of kept running and then I eventually saw the ball and it just happened to be in my hands.”

The touchdown put Chatfield in front for the first time in the game and moved them to the Prep Bowl. They will meet the winner of Friday’s game between West Central Area/Ashby and Maple River.

Pregame Prep

The Bearcats of Kittson County Central (the high school is in Lancaster in extreme northwest Minnesota) arrived in the Twin Cities on Wednesday and worked out underneath a bubble on the turf at Academy of Holy Angels in Richfield. LeRoy-Ostrander (near the Iowa border south of Rochester) didn’t find an available bubble but had a walk-through in a large hotel ballroom.

With 514 miles between the two schools, they may be the most distant schools to play in the state football semifinals.

Remembering Hall of Fame Officials

In the last month, the MSHSL officiating community lost two giants in Dick “Gramps” Eldridge and Darrell “Bozo” Wincek, both members of the MSHSL Hall of Fame. To honor their memory and excellence in working numerous Prep Bowls, photos of Dick and Darrell have been placed in the officials locker room at U.S. Bank Stadium.

My Top 5 Favorite Nicknames In The Football Semifinals

5. Chatfield Gophers

4. Kasson-Mantorville KoMets

3. Mahtomedi Zephyrs

2. Kittson County Central Bearcats

1. Esko Eskomos

Football State Semifinals

Thursday

Nine-Man: LeRoy-Ostrander 49, Kittson County Central 0

2A: Chatfield 22, Barnesville 18

4A: Becker vs. Kasson-Mantorville

6A: Eden Prairie vs. Maple Grove

Friday

Nine-Man: Fertile-Beltrami vs. Hills-Beaver Creek, 9 am

2A West Central Area/Ashby vs. Maple River, 11:30 am

5A: Robbinsdale Cooper vs. Mahtomedi, 2 pm

4A: Orono vs. Hutchinson, 4:30 pm

6A: St. Michael-Albertville vs. Lakeville South, 7 pm

Saturday

1A: Minneota vs. Rushford-Peterson, 9 am

1A: New York Mills vs. Mayer Lutheran, 11:30 am

3A: Annandale vs. Plainview-Elgin-Millville, 2 pm

3A: Esko vs. Dassel-Cokato, 4:30 pm

5A: Rogers vs. Mankato West, 7 pm

Tickets, brackets, streaming, online program, etc.: https://www.mshsl.org/sports-and-activities/football

--MSHSL media specialist John Millea has been the leading voice of Minnesota high school activities for decades. Follow him on Twitter @MSHSLjohn and listen to "Preps Today with John Millea” wherever you get podcasts. Contact John at jmillea@mshsl.org 

John’s Journal: The Culhane Effect On Minnesota Volleyball

 

The Marshall High School volleyball team matched history on Saturday by winning the Class 3A state championship. The Tigers became the sixth school to win a state-best seven volleyball titles, along with Bethlehem Academy, Chaska, Eagan, Robbinsdale Armstrong, Tracy-Milroy (Balaton).

Earlier Saturday, the Minneota Vikings lost to Mayer Lutheran in the Class 1A championship match. Minneota has played in eight state title matches, winning three times.

Geographically speaking, Marshall and Minneota are almost next door to one of the best NCAA Division II volleyball programs in the country. Marshall High School is literally across the street from Southwest Minnesota State University and Minneota is only 15 miles away. And nobody can discount the impact of the Southwest State Mustangs – and specifically head volleyball coach Terry Culhane – on the sport in southwest Minnesota.

Before becoming coach at SMSU 18 years ago, Culhane was a Hall of Fame high school volleyball and girls basketball coach for two decades at Tracy, Tracy-Milroy and Marshall. He started his volleyball head coaching career at Milroy in 1979 and became a five-time Minnesota State Volleyball Coach of the Year, finishing with a high school career record of 519-112 in 22 seasons as a head coach. His teams appeared in 15 state tournaments with six state championships. Coaching basketball, he led Marshall to three state tournaments, including state championships in 2001 and 2002. Before taking over at Marshall, he led Tracy-Milroy to basketball state championships in 1992 and 1996.

Culhane announced last week that he will retire when the current volleyball season ends at Southwest State, and his impact on high school volleyball is immeasurable.

“I can't thank that man enough for everything he's done for our program. We're just so fortunate,” said Minneota coach Hayley Fruin, a Minneota alum who faced Culhane’s teams when she played volleyball at Minnesota State Mankato.

“We've got a lot of players on our team that have played club for him. And you can tell that mentally he gets them prepared and puts them in situations that they don't get frazzled.”

Marshall coach Dan Westby was an assistant volleyball coach under Culhane for four years, becoming the Tigers’ head coach when Culhane left for Southwest State in 2000.

“That was a great thing for me,” Westby said. “I learned a lot from Terry. The number one thing I've always told people that I learned from Terry is that everything you do is about expectations. You put expectations on players, you put expectations on coaches, and that's the one thing I really took away from Terry.”

Culhane is Southwest State’s all-time leader in victories with a career record of 429-123, including 256-66 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference matches. Under Culhane, SMSU has made 15 NCAA tournament appearances, including 11 NCAA region semifinal appearances, three NCAA region championship appearances and one NCAA national runner-up finish (2014).

One of his most decorated players is Minneota native Taylor Reiss, the National Player of the Year in 2017 and 2018 who was named the NCAA Division II Honda Female Athlete of the Year following the 2018-19 academic year. Reiss is now an assistant coach at Southwest State.

Marshall won its first volleyball title in 2004, Westby’s first year as head coach.

“We won the state championship right out of the chute, but that's not because of me,” he said. “That's because of what Terry had done.”

Current Minneota seniors McKenzie Tolk and Natalie Rolbiecki plan to play volleyball at Southwest State next year. Many high school players from Marshall, Minneota and other schools in southwest Minnesota go to camps at Southwest State and watch the Mustangs play.

“We have a great relationship,” Westby said of the ties that bring together the college and high school programs. “In most college towns, the high school program and the college program are completely separate. But in Marshall, our college team and our high school team work so closely together, it's just been great for both the college and the high school.”

Fruin said of Culhane, “That man deserves all the recognition and everything because he has done a lot. I’ve heard so many Terry stories about how he's got a big heart. He's a tough coach, but he's got a big heart, too.”

--MSHSL media specialist John Millea has been the leading voice of Minnesota high school activities for decades. Follow him on Twitter @MSHSLjohn and listen to "Preps Today with John Millea” wherever you get podcasts. Contact John at jmillea@mshsl.org 

John’s Journal: The Dream Becomes Reality

 

After the Sauk Centre High School volleyball team won in Friday’s Class 2A state semifinals, coach Jim Klaphake admitted he was somewhat surprised that the Mainstreeters were headed to Saturday’s state championship match.

“I thought this was going to be a good team, and it’s a great team,” he had said Friday.

When Klaphake and the team’s seven seniors arrived for a postgame session with the media on Saturday – following their gold-clinching 3-1 victory over Jackson County Central – the coach began by smiling broadly and addressing his statement from a day earlier.

“I thought this was an awful good group,” he said. “I didn't lie, either.”

A few minutes later, as the Mainstreeters talked about their come-from-behind, stomp-on-the-gas, 13-25, 25-21, 25-17, 25-19 win over the talented, gritty Huskies, the seniors were asked, “Raise your hand if you thought you would be state champs.”

Only Emma Kittelson, alternating between tears of joy and a buoyant grin, raised her hand. She looked at Klaphake, her smile broad, as the coach and the other seniors laughed. It was quite a moment.

The whole thing seemed like a dream come true for the Mainstreeters. They had a wonderful season, coming to the state tournament with a 30-1 record, finishing 33-1 and taking home all those gold medals and a state championship trophy. But surprised they were.

“I've been doing this for a while,” said Klaphake as he wrapped up his 18^th season as a head coach with a state title in his first title match. “We were here in 2010, 2011 and 2012. We've been in the section championship five times in between there (and now).”

Asked about the dream of winning and the actual experience of winning, the answer was easy. The coach looked at his seniors and said, “Girls, what do you think? Yeah, I think this more than matches the dream.”

State Volleyball Tournament

Class 1A

Championship: Mayer Lutheran defeats Minneota 25-15, 25-20, 25-18

Third place: Bethlehem Academy defeats Walker-Hackensack-Akeley 25-18, 15-25, 25-22, 25-16

Fifth place: Legacy Christian defeats Breckenridge 24-26, 25-19, 25-21, 25-21

Class 2A

Championship: Sauk Centre defeats Jackson County Central 13-25, 25-21, 25-17, 25-19

Third place: Hawley defeats Mounds Park Academy 29-27, 12-25, 22-25, 31-29, 19-17

Fifth place: Southwest Christian defeats Cannon Falls 25-18, 25-19, 25-16

Class 3A

Championship: Marshall vs. Kasson-Mantorville

Third place: Grand Rapids vs. New Prague

Fifth place: Monticello defeats Chisago Lakes 19-25, 25-15, 25-17, 25-17

Class 4A

Championship: Wayzata vs. East Ridge

Third place: Rogers vs. Eden Prairie

Fifth place: Lakeville North defeats Bloomington Jefferson 25-21, 25-21, 22-25, 25-17

--MSHSL media specialist John Millea has been the leading voice of Minnesota high school activities for decades. Follow him on Twitter @MSHSLjohn and listen to "Preps Today with John Millea” wherever you get podcasts. Contact John at jmillea@mshsl.org 

John’s Journal: Mainstreeters Go From Good To Great

 

The question, posed to Sauk Centre volleyball coach Jim Klaphake after the Mainstreeters had advanced to Saturday’s Class 2A state championship match, was simple: “Jim, was there a time maybe before the season or during the season when you thought this team was good enough to be playing on the last day of the season?”

The veteran coach, in his 18^th season, admitted Friday that he is just a bit surprised by what has transpired.

“I thought this was going to be a good team, and it’s a great team,” he said following a 3-0 semifinal sweep of Hawley. “We’ve got six seniors that play, a junior, a couple freshmen that play, and the freshmen have just been getting better and better. I think they’ve just improved all the time and I think that's been a lot of mentoring from the seniors and upperclassmen. I thought we were going to be good.”

Sauk Centre is at state for the seventh time – the first since 2012 – and will play in its first state championship match at 3 p.m. Saturday at Xcel Energy Center, facing Jackson County Central. In another first, those two teams have never met, according to Klaphake.

Sauk Centre has no all-state players, they weren’t ranked in the coaches poll until midway through the season, and they were seeded third in the Class 2A state tournament despite having the best record (30-1) in the eight-team field. No. 1 seed Southwest Christian and No. 2 seed Cannon Falls both lost in the state quarterfinals; Jackson County Central (29-6) is seeded fourth.

"To be honest with you, I think there’s probably been a little bit of a chip on our shoulder for a long time,” said Klaphake, whose career record is 447-93. “That's kind of been a card I’ve been playing with the girls, that we’re just a little bit disrespected. But at the same time, we had a great match with Pequot Lakes (a 3-2 win) in the section championship. We were fortunate to get out of there.”

The Mainstreeters have not lost since the first day of their season, falling to Watertown-Mayer 2-1 in a tournament way back on Aug. 27. They have lost only eight sets this season. And here they are, playing in a state championship match for the first time in history.

“This is what drove me since I started playing,” said Sauk Centre senior Emma Kittelson, who had a team-high 12 of the Mainstreeters’ 39 kills against Hawley. “It's always been my dream of being in the championship, and it doesn't seem real to me. I’m excited, I'm very proud of my teammates.”

State Volleyball Tournament

Friday’s Semifinals

Class A

Mayer Lutheran defeats Bethlehem Academy 25-16, 25-7, 25-19

Minneota defeats Walker-Hackensack-Akeley 25-18, 25-21, 25-14

Class 2A

 Jackson County Central defeats Mounds Park Academy 25-21, 24-26, 25-13, 25-14

Sauk Centre defeats Hawley 25-23, 25-15, 25-23

Class 3A

Marshall vs. Grand Rapids 

Kasson-Mantorville vs. New Prague

Saturday’s state championship matches

1 pm: 1A/ Mayer Lutheran vs. Minneota

3 pm: 2A/ Jackson County Central vs. Sauk Centre

5 pm: 3A/

7 pm: 4A/ Wayzata vs. East Ridge

For brackets, information on tickets, streaming and more, click here: https://www.mshsl.org/sports-and-activities/volleyball-girls

--MSHSL media specialist John Millea has been the leading voice of Minnesota high school activities for decades. Follow him on Twitter @MSHSLjohn and listen to "Preps Today with John Millea” wherever you get podcasts. Contact John at jmillea@mshsl.org 

John’s Journal: Home Sweet Home In Downtown St. Paul

 

Volleyball teams come from far and wide to the state tournament, where the destination all season long is Xcel Energy Center in downtown St. Paul. This year for example, the Breckenridge Cowgirls drove 212 miles to play at state, the Hawley Nuggets drove 233 miles and the Badger/Greenbush-Middle River Gators spent six hours on the highway, covering 355 miles between home and downtown St. Paul.

But not every team travels long distances to get to state. Two of the most intriguing stories of the week are centered on hometown teams from schools located right in St. Paul. Let’s start with Mounds Park Academy, which is only eight miles from Xcel Energy Center.

The unseeded Panthers dropped some heavy ordnance in Thursday’s Class 2A quarterfinals, defeating top-seeded Southwest Christian 26-24, 20-25, 25-22, 18-25, 15-11.

Mounds Park Academy is not an unknown in volleyball circles. They played in the Class 1A state tournament in 2019 – the last time a state tourney was held – and played a five-set match with Fosston in the quarterfinals. They lost that time.

After moving up to 2A, their 26-4 record this fall wasn’t enough to convince the tournament coaches to make them one of the five seeded teams. A random draw matched them with Southwest Christian.

As Mounds Park Academy junior Lola Pinon put it after the big win, “The people that have nothing to lose are the scariest people.”

The Panthers also were not ranked in the final Class 2A coaches poll, which was kind of a ho-hum thing.

“We've always been considered the underdog because we're unranked,” said coach Jeff Kunze-Hoeg.

The experience of playing at state two years ago was important Thursday.

“I was really frazzled the first time and then today I was like, ‘I belong here,’ ” said Pilon. “I want to prove that we belong here as a team, and it was just better to have that experience.”

The two teams had met in a tournament in Burnsville this season, with Southwest Christian winning 2-1. The Panthers had played a five-set match only once before state, defeating Nova Classical Academy 3-2 in the Section 4 title match.

The Panthers came out strong Thursday, winning the first set and putting the Stars on their heels. Southwest Christian coach Jessy Tow-Arnett said, “I knew they were going to be a great opponent. They're smart players. They just they make smart plays. They’re not flashy, but there are a lot of athletes out there.”

The Stars came in with a record of 29-3, losing only to Class 3A teams Lakeville North, Eagan and Rogers. They will meet Annandale in the consolation bracket on Friday, while Mounds Park Academy will face Jackson County Central in the semifinals.

Great Scots Are Back After 44 Years

Until Wednesday, St. Paul Highland Park High School had not played in the state volleyball tournament since 1977. Forty-four years is a long time to wait, even if the distance between the school and Xcel Energy Center is just five miles. … which, according to Google Maps, can be traversed in 26 minutes on a bicycle.

The big arena has been standing in downtown St. Paul for two decades, and considering the Scots’ long absence from the state tourney, it probably shouldn’t be surprising that some of the Highland Park players had never set foot inside the Xcel Center until this week

Highland Park senior Azeria Stagg’s first look inside of the big barn came when the Scots arrived for their Class 3A state quarterfinal match with Marshall.

“For me personally, I've never been to the Xcel Energy Center, so I was honored to play here and have the opportunity to play with my team, my seniors,” she said after the Scots were defeated 3-0. “The lights were so bright, and it was very nerve-wracking with such a big crowd.”

Another Highland Park senior, Kiyomi Callahan, said, “It's kind of an amazing experience. It’s completely different than being in a gym, with all the lights on you here. It was a pretty cool opportunity that we got to take this year. And it’s an amazing way to end our senior year. We are ready to go back on Friday.”

The Scots will face Monticello in the consolation bracket on Friday, giving them at least one more match inside their hometown arena. The winner will play for a third time, in Saturday’s fifth-place match.

Scots coach Sonje Odegard, who spent two years as an assistant before becoming head coach this season, knew the challenge was large against Marshall, which has played in 10 state championship matches since 2004, winning six times.

“Marshall is known for being a great team, but I'm really glad we have the opportunity to play this high level of volleyball and really get pushed,” she said. “And we were just grateful. Honestly, we're grateful to be here. I think our goal is to make the most of this and come back Friday and enjoy this.”

Vikings, Packers and Volleyball

Maysa Gillingham (left in this photo), a senior at Class 3A Marshall, is the granddaughter of Gale Gillingham, who graduated from Little Falls High School, played at the University of Minnesota and spent 10 years with the Green Bay Packers. He played in five Pro Bowls and was the inaugural winner of the Forrest Gregg Award as the NFL Offensive Lineman of the Year following the 1970 season. 

Lakeville South freshman Josie Tingelhoff (right in this photo) is the granddaughter of Vikings great Mick Tingelhoff. After playing at Nebraska, Mick Tingelhoff signed as a free agent with the Vikings in 1962 and went on to become one of the team’s all-time stars, named to the NFL Hall of Fame in 2015. He became the Vikings’ starting center in his rookie season and held that spot until he retired in 1978. He started 240 consecutive games.

Gale Gillingham passed away in 2011 and Mick Tingelhoff died in September.

State Volleyball Tournament

Wednesday’s Quarterfinals

Class 4A

Wayzata defeats Roseville 25-9, 25-9, 25-14

Rogers defeats Lakeville North 21-25, 25-15, 25-19, 26-24

Eden Prairie defeats Forest Lake 24-26, 24-26, 25-22, 25-18, 21-19

East Ridge defeats Bloomington Jefferson 11-25, 25-17, 25-21, 28-26.

Thursday’s semifinals

Wayzata vs. Rogers

Eden Prairie vs East Ridge

Class 3A

Marshall defeats St. Paul Highland Park 25-14, 25-4, 25-10

Grand Rapids defeats Monticello 23-25, 25-15, 25-13, 25-16

Kasson-Mantorville defeats Sauk Rapids-Rice 25-16, 25-11, 25-15

New Prague defeats Chisago Lakes 20-25, 25-17, 25-19, 25-11

Friday’s semifinals

5 p.m.: Marshall vs. Grand Rapids

7 p.m.: Kasson-Mantorville vs. New Prague

Thursday’s Quarterfinals

Class 2A

Mounds Park Academy defeats Southwest Christian 26-24, 20-25, 25-22, 18-25, 15-11

Jackson County Central defeats Annandale 25-15, 25-14, 25-19

Cannon Falls vs. Hawley

Sauk Centre defeats Greenway 25-18, 25-19, 19-25, 25-10

Friday’s semifinals

9 a.m.: Mounds Park Academy vs. Jackson County Central

11 a.m.:    vs. Sauk Centre

Class 1A

Mayer Lutheran vs. South Ridge

Bethlehem Academy vs. Breckenridge

Minneota vs. Badger/Greenbush-Middle River

Legacy Christian vs. Walker-Hackensack-Akeley

Friday’s semifinals

1 p.m.:

3 p.m.:

For complete brackets, click here: https://www.mshsl.org/2021-state-volleyball-brackets

--MSHSL media specialist John Millea has been the leading voice of Minnesota high school activities for decades. Follow him on Twitter @MSHSLjohn and listen to "Preps Today with John Millea” wherever you get podcasts. Contact John at jmillea@mshsl.org 

 

John’s Journal: State Volleyball Is ‘Icing On The Cake’

 

The 2020 volleyball season was, uh … what exactly? Weird? Oh yes. Abbreviated? For sure. Covid-19 meant fewer matches, no regular-season tournaments and an ending that did not end with a state tournament, which might have been the weirdest thing of all.

Teams just practiced and played, practiced and played, with no real tangible trophy-related goal in sight at the end of it all.

That is now in the rear-view mirror, which was clear when the 2021 state volleyball tournament opened Wednesday at Xcel Energy Center in downtown St. Paul. The crowds were large and loud, the play was top-notch and the mood was one of celebration. As it should be.

It was quite different from the ending in 2020.

“It was November 20 or whatever, there was a ton of emotion and we played our last match at Maple Grove,” said Wayzata coach Scott Jackson. “We had like a mock section tournament and we played a really good Maple Grove team to finish. We had a lot of emotions; there were kids crying and there was a coach crying.”

The Trojans finished 13-0 last season and improved to 32-0 this fall with Wednesday’s Class 4A quarterfinal sweep of Roseville. They have won 52 matches in a row since falling to Minnetonka in October 2019. Wayzata went on to win the state title that year, meaning they are the defending big-school state tournament champions … regardless of the weirdness of 2020.

Still, there were lessons to be learned from last fall.

“It felt abbreviated but we were so thankful for that opportunity to have that time; the most important thing here is that these guys are going to be friends for life,” Jackson said. “They've created an unbreakable bond with one another by playing so hard for one another. There is a huge potential reward at the end of this one. We've had a longer time together so it's all icing on the cake right now.”

Wayzata will meet Rogers in Thursday’s semifinals. The Royals, playing at state for the first time, defeated Lakeville North 3-1 in the opening round. Rogers has a record of 27-4 and is one of only five teams to win a set against Wayzata this season. The Trojans defeated Rogers 3-0 during the regular season and 2-1 in a tournament at St. Michael-Albertville.

“I'm elated with what's happened this year, the way the team has really come together and really developed throughout the season,” said Rogers coach Bo Schmidt. “We flew under the radar, we're the new kids on the block. All season we weren't ranked in the top 10. Our record was 24-4 before the section tournament started and we still didn't crack the top 10. So we're kind of using that like, ‘Hey, we're here guys.’ This is what we can do and we’re just so excited to showcase that here.

“(Wayzata is) an undefeated team going into this semifinal, the oddsmakers are saying we're a long shot, right? … I'm excited. I'm excited because we’ve got nothing to lose. We're going to go out there and play our best game. And we're going to give them all they can handle and when we come out on top, it's going to be that much sweeter.”

The Roseville Raiders, playing at state for the first time since 2016, are also embracing the experience. They will meet Lakeville North in Thursday’s consolation bracket.

Raiders coach Greg Ueland said there were good things to come out of the 2020 season.

“I think we were just all really happy to play last year and it really kind of reminded you of the ‘Why’ behind it,” he said.

“Then you add the fun that this team really thrives on, like there's something out there, we’ve got to prove something, there's something to achieve. And our state tournament is special. I have coached a lot of different sports, I've been to a lot of the state tournaments and we have a lot of great ones in Minnesota. But this one ranks toward the top. Minnesota volleyball is special and for us to be here and to have that goal to work toward is special.”

Roseville senior Sophia Gondek said, “We put out a goal right at the beginning of the season of what we wanted to accomplish, and that was state. I think the whole year we had something to work towards the whole time and we all just worked together. We all acknowledged it and we just worked so hard.”

Welcome back to state, everybody.

State Volleyball Tournament

Wednesday’s Quarterfinals

Class 4A

Wayzata defeats Roseville 25-9, 25-9, 25-14

Rogers defeats Lakeville North 21-25, 25-15, 25-19, 26-24

Eden Prairie defeats Forest Lake 24-26, 24-26, 25-22, 25-18, 21-19

East Ridge defeats Bloomington Jefferson 11-25, 25-17, 25-21, 28-26.

Thursday’s semifinals

1 p.m.: Wayzata vs. Rogers

3 p.m.: Eden Prairie vs East Ridge

Class 3A

Marshall v St. Paul Highland Park

Monticello v Grand Rapids

Kasson-Mantorville v Sauk Rapids-Rice

New Prague v Chisago Lakes

Thursday’s semifinals

5 p.m.

7 p.m.

Thursday’s Quarterfinals

Class 2A

9 a.m.

Southwest Christian v Mounds Park Academy

Jackson County Central v Annandale

11 a.m.

Cannon Falls v Hawley

Sauk Centre v Greenway

Class 1A

5 p.m.

Mayer Lutheran v South Ridge

Bethlehem Academy v Breckenridge

7 p.m.

Minneota v Badger/Greenbush-Middle River

Legacy Christian v Walker-Hackensack-Akeley

--MSHSL media specialist John Millea has been the leading voice of Minnesota high school activities for decades. Follow him on Twitter @MSHSLjohn and listen to "Preps Today with John Millea” wherever you get podcasts. Contact John at jmillea@mshsl.org 

John’s Journal: The Voice Of The Raiders Says Farewell

 

Nick Tuckner, the radio voice of Hastings High School sports longer than any of the current Raiders have been alive, doesn’t go to end-of-season team banquets. His reasoning has always been this: If I go to one banquet, I better go to all of them. He made an exception, however, when the Hastings football team held its banquet on Sunday.

It was Tuckner’s first -- and last -- banquet as the play-by-play master on KDWA. The Raiders’ season ended in a loss to St. Thomas Academy on Friday in the Class 5A Section 3 championship game, which was Tuckner’s final game in a nearly 20-year radio career as he transitions to a new working life.

The football team honored Nick, 41, as if he was one of their own … which he is. He was presented with a jersey, helmet, framed photos and more hugs and handshakes than he can count.

“It made me get all gushy,” he said. “It was special.”

He was a multisport athlete before graduating from Hastings in 1999. Not long after that he began working as an unpaid color commentator on the radio station, and in March 2002 he joined the paid staff.

You name the sport and he’s been there on KDWA. He has called approximately 500 hockey games, missing very few. One came on the day he married his wife Erica (a 2002 Hastings grad); the announcement that the Raiders had defeated Bloomington Jefferson drew a big cheer at the wedding reception.

Also calling games for the Prescott Cardinals across the border in Wisconsin, Tuckner (everybody calls him “Tuck”) handled on-air duties for about 400 basketball games, close to 400 baseball games, a whole bunch of softball games and wrestling, volleyball, lacrosse, etc.

“How was I so lucky that I got to do this for so long?,” he asked when we chatted on the phone Sunday evening.

Tuckner is a member of a special club of Minnesota radio broadcasters who are devoted to high school sports and their communities and carry that responsibility with pride and love. Go almost anywhere in the state and you will hear them: Paul Raymo in Madison-Dawson, Rick Grammond in Pierz, Sheldon Willis in Grand Rapids, Mike Peterson in Perham, Larry Knutson in Moorhead, Zeke Fuhrman in Perham, Dwight Cadwell in Cloquet, Jim Birkemeyer in Ada and many, many others.

Tuckner announced his decision to leave radio on Oct. 27 via Twitter, including this: “I wish there were more words that I could spit out right now, but ‘Thank You’ are the only two words I will know over the next two weeks. It won't be enough. You all have meant the world to my family and I over the years ... and your love and support will never be forgotten.”

It has been a two-way love affair between Tuck and his listeners. During Friday night’s broadcast, he said, “Hello to everybody at the Hastings Veterans Home. They’ve been listening to games for years and I just want to say thanks to them.”

He also wished deer hunters good luck on the season that would begin in a few hours: “I’ll be with you next year, I promise you that. For the first time in 20 years.”

His decision was based on his family, which means the world to him. He and Erica are parents of 7-year-old Dallas, and Tuck has missed too many of his son’s activities because of his job. Now however, he will be there for everything. His next career is working in a promotional role at Cernohous Chevrolet in Prescott, a five-mile drive from his home.

During Friday’s game, Tuck urged the Raiders on. Between the anthem and the kickoff he said to his listeners, “It sure would be fun to find a way tonight and move on to the promised land.”

As he and analyst Jerry Rupp called the game, statistician Dick Cragg kept track of the numbers. Nick wore a blue and gold Hastings hoodie and hat.

The Raiders trailed 7-0 at halftime; Tuck Tweeted, “Our Boys CAN DO THIS!!!!! BELIEVE.”

St. Thomas Academy took control in the second half and won 28-0 to advance to the state playoffs. Tuck grew emotional.

“It wasn’t until the final kneel down,” he said Sunday. “That’s when I kind of lost it. I knew Dallas and Erica were listening.”

After the final whistle, Cragg took the microphone to summarize the statistics. As he did that, Tuck Tweeted, “I love you, Hastings. It's been real. But now, it's time for me to fly ... I'll never forget the love from all of you.”

After Cragg was finished, the voice of the Hastings Raiders poured out his heart as he wrapped everything up on the air.

“Oh you guys. Almost 20 years. Thank you … I love you guys,” he said to his crew.

As tears began to flow, he said, “Oh man. My phone hasn’t stopped ringing. Thank you. I’ve felt your love, folks, as much as you’ve felt mine. And I know this wasn’t the way this was supposed to end. … But sometimes when it comes to real life, it can’t happen. People change, things change, situations change, job descriptions change.

“Dallas, buddy I know you’re at home right now and I know you’re listening to Daddy crying. I love you. I love you. We’ve had so much fun. We’ve got so many years for you to wear a Raider jersey now and I’m so excited for what comes next. It’s time to be dad, it’s time to be coach, and this will all be for you, buddy.

“I love you and we’ll see you soon. Bye everybody.”

As his final broadcast came to a close, Tuck put his arms on the table, lowered his head and cried.

It wasn’t long before he was chatting and joking with others in the press box. Then came a surprise visitor. St. Thomas Academy coach Dan O’Brien walked in to shake Tuck’s hand and congratulate him. “We need more like you,” he told Nick.

“Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh,” Tuck said Sunday. “For him to take the time away from celebrating with his team? He took the time to come up and talk to me? Are you kidding me? The relationships I’ve had with so many coaches in the Suburban East and Metro East (conferences) for 20 years, it’s really special. That was so special.”

After so many years of talking on air, Tuck was walking on air after Sunday’s football banquet. Coaches and players thanked him for all he has done, but there were also glimpses of the bright future ahead for Hastings’ favorite broadcaster.

Senior captain John Chorlton gave Tuck a great big hug and started talking about the upcoming hockey season.

“It’ll be so much fun,” he told Tuck. “You’ll get to be a fan and cheer and yell.”

How great is that?

--MSHSL media specialist John Millea has been the leading voice of Minnesota high school activities for decades. Follow him on Twitter @MSHSLjohn and listen to "Preps Today with John Millea” wherever you get podcasts. Contact John at jmillea@mshsl.org 

John’s Journal: In A Remarkable Race, Finn Finished

 

NORTHFIELD – On a bluebird day at the first MSHSL cross-country state championships in two years, Finn McCormick was on his way to a gold medal.

The senior from Nova Classical Academy in St. Paul was about 100 yards from the finish line, holding a good lead over Perham senior Jakob McCleary as the rest of the 160-man field chased. That’s when Finn went down.

Coming up the 5,000-meter course’s final hill-- just before the straightaway that is lined with cheering fans and ends at the finish line – Finn went down and got up. Then he went down again and got up. It kept happening. Over and over.

“I told myself to get up and go, get up and go, get up and go,” he said afterwards. “I fell like four times. My hips locked up at the hill. I didn't have anything left.”

And yet, somehow, with nothing left in the tank and hips that were not cooperating, Finn finished. McCleary zipped past him and led the field to the line, and six other runners got there before McCormick stumbled across. But he got there. No matter what it took.

He had never ever fallen in a race before Saturday, but he knew what he had to do. Get up and get going. Get up and get going. Reach that finish line.

“All I did was just get up and go, get up and go, get up and go,” he repeated.

He got up and placed eighth, which was vital to Nova capturing the team state championship. The Knights finished with a first-place margin of 122-128 over second-place Perham, which means if McCormick had finished 15^th or lower – or not finished at all -- the Knights would have placed second or lower.

“Before he went down I was like, ‘I’ve got to really kick it up a notch,’ ” McCleary said. “I knew that at the last hill I would have to go all out. When I saw him fall, it was kind of hard to see that.”

McCleary’s time was 16 minutes, 09.64 seconds; Finn was 35 seconds back.

Before falling, McCormick had passed McCleary and knew he was in control of the race.

“It's hard,” he said. “I mean, I was pretty excited. Coming around that stretch before the hill I was pretty amped that I was in first. I knew I had dropped Jakob and it was just go, go go. But then when I hit the hill, like all of a sudden the legs locked and I went down.

“It was just like, ‘Get up and go, get up and go, get up and go.’ I heard people screaming that and that was kind of the only thing going through my head. … I put everything out there.”

Lost Appendix, Gained Glory

Emmett Gerres, a junior from Belle Plaine, didn’t seem all that astonished at his eighth-place finish in Saturday’s Class 2A boys state championship race. But go back a couple weeks to when Gerres was hospitalized, and his performance in even getting to state is remarkable.

Six days before the Oct. 26 Section 2AA championship race, Gerres underwent emergency surgery to remove his appendix. “It needed to come out pretty quickly,” he said.

He was in the hospital and missed the Big Nine Conference meet but was back with his teammates for the section meet.

“I was pretty confident in my recovery that I'd be able to run,” he said. “I just wanted to so badly. I didn't think anything would hold me back.”

He obviously couldn’t run right after the surgery, but got a two-miler in the day before the section meet at Gale Woods Farm in Minnestrista. He didn’t feel great at the section race, which is not surprising. Oh, and he finished first.

“It was a completely different race for me because I'm used to leading,” Emmett said. “I had to stick back and just hold it out with a second-place guy until the last half mile. I didn’t feel great. I was able to finish and recover pretty good afterwards.”

And Saturday? “I feel fine today,” he said. “I didn't feel like it affected my race at all.”

From Last To Seventh

Two years ago, Isaiah Anderson was an eighth-grader running for Mankato East when he competed at the state cross-country meet for the first time. The ending was not all that pretty, because he was the last runner to cross the finish line.  

“I don't think I was ready for that,” he said Saturday. “It was pretty stressful.”

With no fall state tournaments held in 2020 due to Covid-19, it was two years before Isaiah returned to run at St. Olaf College. And boy, did he run, placing seventh in Class 2A.

“This time, I knew I was going to be trying to get a top 10 finish,” he said.

His time in 2019 was 18:35.2 seconds. His time Saturday was 16:13.90. He said he worked hard over the two-year gap between state championships, putting in a lot of miles.

Anderson finished second at the Section 2 championships, leading the Cougars to a second-place spot as a team and earning a trip to state. They placed eighth Saturday.

Great Sendoff, Great Ending

When Hutchinson sophomore Isabelle Schmitz left school on Friday for the trip to Northfield and some pre-race time on the course, she was given a royal sendoff. The only runner from Hutchinson to qualify for state, she walked down a wide stairway in the school commons area as the band played the Superman theme and her fellow students applauded, cheered and gave her high fives. (Video of the scene can be viewed on the @HutchActivities Twitter account.)

She returned home in equally super fashion as a state champion. Isabelle ran to a dominating victory in Class 2A, with her time of 17:59.4 topping second-place sophomore Olivia Goebel of Albany by eight seconds. The 2A girls top 10 included four sophomores, three juniors and three seniors.

State Champions

Class 1A boys

Individual: Jakob McCleary, Perham

Team: Nova Classical Academy

Class 1A girls

Individual: Amanda Overgaauw, Murray County Central

Team: Staples-Motley

Class 2A boys

Individual: Alden Keller, Breck

Team: Big Lake

Class 2A girls

Individual: Isabelle Schmitz, Hutchinson

Team: St. Paul Highland Park

Class 3A boys

Individual: Nick Gilles, Minnetonka

Team: Wayzata

Class 3A girls

Individual: Ali Weimer, St. Michael-Albertville

Team: Edina

Complete results can be found here: https://results.wayzatatiming.com/meets/11779

 --MSHSL media specialist John Millea has been the leading voice of Minnesota high school activities for decades. Follow him on Twitter @MSHSLjohn and listen to "Preps Today with John Millea” wherever you get podcasts. Contact John at jmillea@mshsl.org